Tag Archives: Brian Swartz

The son of “Stuttering Pat”

Five Patrick Kelleys appeared before recruiting officers in Maine and enlisted in the army during the Civil War. Four likely exhibited an Irish brogue when speaking English. The fifth Patrick Kelley possibly spoke English with the developing Aroostook County dialect that added “r” to words lacking that letter (such as “Ka-tar-din”). Whatever his accent, this […]

A soldier named Milo

He was one of a kind, the soldier named Milo Keech. Born to Hazen and Abigail (Swan) Keech in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in 1833, Milo moved eastward to Bethel with his family about 10 years later. The town’s 1850 census indicated that he was 17, living with his parents (Hazen was a millwright) and four […]

A soldier named Moses

Moses Davis rubs shoulders with Joseph Simpson, a comrade these past 160 years. They probably knew each other way back when; if not, they have certainly had time to introduce themselves. Joe’s from Waterville, by the way. Moses has probably made acquaintances with his other next-door neighbor, Samuel C. Brookings, a youngster from Pittston. He […]

A soldier named America

A soldier named America sallied forth from northern Aroostook County to defend the United States in midsummer 1863. History also identified him as Americus, but America F. Bartlett he was — even if, given his patriotic first name, he possibly was less than enthusiastic about military service. America was a 22-year-old laborer from Forestville Plantation […]

Milo residents re-dedicate town’s Civil War monument on August 12

Gathering at a local cemetery beneath a beautiful late summer sky, residents of Milo re-dedicated their town’s Civil War monument this August with capable assistance from Civil War descendants and re-enactors. Participating organizations included the Milo Historical Society; the Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent No. 23, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War; the Col. […]

New book titled Maine at War Volume 1 covers an exciting 18-month period

For Civil War buffs everywhere, we are pleased to announce the May 1st release of Maine at War Volume 1: Bladensburg to Sharpsburg. Experience Maine’s involvement in the first 18 months of the Civil War as told by the men and women who left the Pine Tree State to defend and preserve the Union. Gleaned […]

Isabella Fogg investigated reports of Army mistreatment of wounded Union soldiers

    Isabella Fogg had already encountered the horrors of war when the slaughter known as Antietam took place on Sept. 17, 1862. Then Fogg discovered the hell that is war. Surnamed Morrison, her parents had emigrated to New Brunswick from Scotland before Isabella’s birth in 1823. Practically a child bride when she married William […]

When Confederate spooks came calling, Bludgeon the Horse got going

Neither Winsor B. Smith nor Bludgeon the Horse ever forgot that dark Virginia night when the Confederate spooks came calling. Born in Bridgton in 1842, Smith joined the 1st Maine Cavalry Regiment’s Co. K as a private in August 1862. He developed an impressive wartime resume, including a six-month stint as a Confederate prisoner. That […]

If only Andrew Bean’s trunk could talk

  Sometimes we can almost reach across history and “touch” a Civil War veteran. At least with Andrew Derby Bean from Brooks, we can touch the trunk that he took to war in spring 1861, and if only that trunk could talk, If only the trunk owned by Andrew Derby Bean could talk, the war […]

Answering the call

After Abraham Lincoln asked the loyal states to send more men to fight the Confederacy in early summer 1862, the War Department requested that Maine raise four additional infantry regiments. That meant Maine would send 4,000 men (at 1,000 men per regiment). With 15 infantry regiments already sent to far-flung battlefields, Maine would create the […]